Your words need to work harder than ever, whether you're writing website copy or print marketing materials. Every email, webpage, and social page compete for increasingly divided attention. The difference between copy that works and content that's ignored often comes down to how you structure your sentences.
Marketing messages that feel direct, clear, and energetic typically share one common trait: they use active voice.
Active voice puts the subject in the driver's seat, performing the action. So, what is active voice, and how can you use it to improve your marketing copywriting? Keep reading to find out.
What is active voice, and why does it matter in marketing?
Active voice creates sentences where the subject performs the action directly. "The marketing team launched the campaign" uses active voice.
The subject (marketing team) performs the verb (launched) on the object (campaign). This structure feels natural because it mirrors how we experience the world; people and things take action rather than having actions happen to them.
Active sentences in marketing create clarity, urgency, and engagement. Writing marketing materials in an active voice creates a connection between the reader and the benefit. The directness of the active voice also helps with message retention; readers can remember more easily who did what because the sentence structure follows a logical pattern.
Active voice sentences show their strength most clearly in calls to action, email subject lines, and ad headlines. "Download your free guide" creates more urgency than "Your free guide can be downloaded." Similarly, "We'll ship your order tomorrow" feels more personal and immediate than "Your order will be shipped tomorrow."
These small shifts can significantly impact open rates, click-throughs, and conversions by creating a clearer path from reader to action.
Active voice also creates a sense of ownership and authority in your marketing communication. When brands use active voice, they position themselves as confident experts who take decisive action rather than passive observers.
Consider how differently these statements feel: "Quality is prioritized in all our processes" versus "We prioritize quality in everything we do." The action version demonstrates commitment and accountability, suggesting a company that stands firmly behind its promises.
This subtle shift in voice and tone can be especially effective when communicating your unique value proposition or addressing customer pain points directly.
What is passive voice, and when is it used in marketing?
Passive voice reverses the natural subject-verb relationship. In a passive voice sentence structure, the subject receives the action instead of performing it. "The report was written by Jane" puts the emphasis on the report (the receiver of the action) rather than on Jane (who performed the action). This structure often requires more words and creates a roundabout way of expressing ideas.
However, despite its drawbacks, passive voice does have appropriate uses in marketing, particularly in formal business communications, scientific writing, or when you want to emphasize the action rather than who performed it.
"All accounts are backed by FDIC insurance" focuses attention on the protection itself rather than on who provides it. Similarly, "Mistakes were made in our previous policy" might strategically shift focus away from who made those mistakes when addressing a company controversy.
Keep in mind that there are risks in using passive voice in marketing. Your copy becomes wordier, less direct, and often more confusing. Passive sentences need more cognitive effort to process, increasing the chance that readers will abandon your content.
In an environment where you have seconds to capture attention, passive voice creates unnecessary barriers between your audience and your messages. However, there are still instances where active and passive voice can (and should) be used to ensure marketing materials are clear to your audience.
Active voice vs. passive voice: Impact on marketing performance
Active voice improves readability by creating a natural flow that matches how people process information. When readers don't have to mentally rearrange sentence components to understand who's doing what, they move through your content more easily and with greater comprehension.
This improved readability translates directly to better engagement metrics like longer time on page, more pages per session, and higher completion rates for forms and purchases.
Our brains have limited working memory capacity; when we encounter passive voice, we must allocate additional cognitive resources to process the information.
Consider the difference between "Our team created this report" and "This report was created by our team." The second version requires your brain to hold the report in memory while waiting to discover who created it.
This might seem minor for a single sentence, but across an entire marketing campaign, these small cognitive burdens accumulate, potentially leading to decision fatigue and reduced response rates.
Active voice in website copywriting
Website copywriting benefits tremendously from active voice because online readers tend to scan instead of read deeply. They only read a fraction of the words on a webpage. Direct, action-oriented sentences stand a much better chance of conveying your messages before visitors move on.
When writing for landing pages, product descriptions, or promotional banners, active voice ensures that your most important points land clearly, even when users are skimming.
Active voice in email marketing
Email marketing may also show some of the most dramatic performance differences based on tone and voice choices. The email tone you select significantly influences engagement rates across all standard metrics.
Marketing teams that conduct split tests consistently report higher open rates for subject lines using active voice than identical campaigns using passive voice verbs. This improvement holds consistent regardless of industry or target audience demographics.
Active voice in e-commerce
When product descriptions use active voice to help customers envision themselves using the product, conversion rates typically exceed those of passive descriptions.
This difference appears most pronounced for complex or high-consideration purchases where customers need to clearly understand benefits and applications before committing.
Active voice in social media marketing
Social media posts written in active voice tend to generate more likes, shares, and comments than passive voice alternatives. This happens for several key reasons. First, social media is inherently conversational, and active voice mirrors natural speech patterns, making posts feel more authentic and relatable.
Second, the character limitations on different platforms make active voice's efficiency crucial; passive constructions waste valuable space. Third, social feeds move quickly and require an immediate impact, which passive voice may dilute.
Active voice also makes brand personality more evident, helping social content stand out in crowded feeds.
Active voice in search engine optimization
Search engines favor content written in active voice because it aligns with quality indicators like readability and user engagement. While search algorithms don't explicitly penalize passive voice, the secondary effects matter significantly.
Active voice typically produces concise content with clear keyword usage and generates better user signals through improved engagement metrics like time on page and bounce rate.
How to shift your marketing copy to active voice
Shifting your marketing content from passive to active voice requires a deliberate approach that combines awareness of passive constructions with a comprehensive revision process.
This strategic decision improves how customers experience your brand through every touchpoint. The good news is that once you recognize common passive patterns and establish a workflow, active voice becomes your natural default.
Let's take a look at how the process works:
Identifying passive voice in your marketing content
Before shifting your marketing copy to use more active verbs, you need to learn how to identify passive voice in your content. Look for forms of "to be" (is, are, was, were, has been) followed by a past participle (words typically ending in -ed), especially when paired with "by" phrases.
Watch for sentences where the actor comes after the action or disappears entirely. Recognizing this pattern will become second nature with practice, allowing you to spot passive phrases during your initial drafting process.
The most common passive constructions in marketing tend to cluster around certain message types. Product features often default to passive voice: "This software was developed to simplify accounting" rather than "We developed this software to simplify your accounting."
Customer service communications frequently fall into passive patterns: "Your issue will be resolved by our team" instead of "Our team will resolve your issue." Even testimonials sometimes get reframed passively: "Great results were experienced after using the product" rather than "I experienced great results after using the product."
Creating a process for active voice revision
To systematically eliminate these patterns, create a passive voice detection workflow that catches these issues before publication. You can begin drafting usually, allowing ideas to flow without overthinking voice.
Then, conduct a specific passive voice editing pass before your standard proofreading. During this dedicated review, focus exclusively on voice issues without getting distracted by other editing concerns. This targeted approach proves more effective than trying to catch every issue type simultaneously.
When revising, identify the true subject of each passive sentence — who or what is actually performing the action. Sometimes, this means adding information that was omitted in the passive construction.
For instance, "Discounts are offered on all products" leaves unanswered who's offering these discounts. The active revision "We offer discounts on all products" clarifies the actor and creates a more direct relationship with customers. If you are frequently unable to identify who's performing the action, this signals a potential clarity issue in your overall messaging strategy.
Strong, active voice copywriting demands rethinking your message from the perspective of action and responsibility. Consider this standard passive construction: "Mistakes were made in processing your order." This wording subtly avoids accountability.
The active alternative, "We made mistakes while processing your order," acknowledges responsibility directly. While potentially uncomfortable, this directness builds trust with customers who appreciate transparency.
Use the right technologies and tools to improve active voice usage
Several technological tools can strengthen your active voice usage. Most word processors include grammar checks that flag passive constructions, though these often generate false positives that require human judgment.
More specialized writing software provides sophisticated analysis of voice patterns across entire documents. Grammarly's premium version offers dedicated passive voice detection, highlighting potential issues and suggesting active alternatives.
The Hemingway Editor color-codes passive sentences, making them instantly visible during editing. ProWritingAid generates comprehensive reports on voice usage patterns throughout your content, helping identify problematic sections.
For marketing teams, establishing systematic active voice processes prevents inconsistency across campaigns. Creating a simple editing checklist in your style guide that includes checking for passive voice can systematize this improvement across all marketing materials.
Some organizations implement a "passive voice budget" where copywriters are permitted a small percentage of passive constructions but must justify each usage.
Applying active voice principles to different marketing channels
Tone significantly impacts response rates, and active voice plays a role in establishing the right tone. When reviewing marketing emails, examine each sentence from the perspective of who's doing what to whom. This actor-action recipient framework can help you identify passive constructions that diminish the impact.
For instance, "A special offer has been created just for you" is stronger as " We created this special offer just for you." The latter establishes a clearer relationship between your company and the customer.
Always prioritize customer-facing content that drives conversions. You can start with high-impact channels like product pages, email campaigns, and paid advertisements before addressing less critical content. This process will deliver the maximum return on your editing investment.
For some companies, a complete active voice overhaul might take weeks or months, but even small improvements to key conversion points can generate significant performance gains.
Review examples across marketing contexts
To help you get a better idea of how you can turn passive voice into active voice, let's take a look at these real-world marketing examples:
Website homepage hero section:
Passive: "Exceptional results are delivered by our proprietary technology."
Active: "Our proprietary technology delivers exceptional results."
The active version immediately communicates value without forcing readers to mentally reorganize the sentence. It also places the emphasis on your technology rather than the abstract concept of results.
For website copy specifically, active voice creates momentum that guides visitors through conversion paths. When each element on the page uses active constructions, you create a natural flow that reduces cognitive friction.
Product descriptions
Passive: "This lightweight laptop was engineered by our team to be carried everywhere without strain."
Active: "Our team engineered this lightweight laptop to go everywhere without straining your shoulders."
Notice how the active version clarifies who did the engineering and directly addresses how the feature benefits the customer.
Email subject line:
Passive: "Your discount code has been activated."
Active: "We activated your discount code."
The active subject line creates a sense of personal service that the passive alternative lacks.
Social media post:
Passive: "New features have been added to our app."
Active: "We just added exciting new features to our app!"
The active version conveys enthusiasm and recency that the passive construction mutes.
Call to action button:
Passive: "Your free trial can be started now"
Active: "Start your free trial now"
The active imperative creates urgency and directly instructs the user on the desired action.
Active voice particularly strengthens microcopy, those small but critical text elements that guide user interactions. Submit buttons, form labels, error messages, and confirmation texts often default to passive voice, creating unnecessary distance. Small shifts to active voice sentences might seem minor but occur at crucial decision points where clarity and connection matter most.
Strengthening your brand voice with active messaging
Using active voice makes your brand sound stronger. When you write directly and clearly, customers see your brand as confident and honest. They connect with your message more easily because you tell them exactly who is doing what. This approach builds trust with people who want real communication, not corporate jargon.
Though active voice works best most of the time, passive voice has its moments, too. Use passive voice to focus on what happened rather than who did it. This works well when talking about industry trends or market changes.
Passive voice also makes sense in legal disclaimers or when handling customer complaints where pointing fingers might make things worse. The important thing is choosing your words on purpose, not just writing passively out of habit.
Tools like Mailchimp help you create more action-focused marketing messages. Our templates make it easy to write clear calls to action, and analytics show you which active messages get better results. Good website copywriting combines these tools with strong writing basics to create copy that guides users smoothly through your site.
Key Takeaways
- Active voice makes your marketing content more direct, clear, and compelling, creating a stronger connection with your audience.
- Passive voice creates unnecessary barriers between your message and readers, requiring more cognitive effort to process information.
- Using active voice improves performance across all marketing channels — from email open rates to website conversions and social media engagement.
- Shifting to an active voice requires identifying passive constructions, establishing a revision process, and using appropriate tools to consistently strengthen your brand voice.